State A volleyball: Wildkats fall in quarterfinals
BOZEMAN — Central A champion Lewistown dropped Northwestern A champion Columbia Falls 25-20, 25-21, 25-14 in a winner’s bracket quarterfinal match at the Class A state volleyball tournament Thursday at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse.
Lewistown broke a 21-all tie in the second set with a 4-0 run and carried that momentum into a lopsided third.
“We just weren’t closing our block,” Columbia Falls coach Josie Brown said. “We weren’t playing defense the way we played last week against Frenchtown (when the Wildkats won their divisional tournament). We played slow tonight and they had a fast offense.”
Lewistown’s Mikaela Olson recorded 10 of her team’s 39 kills. Haley Belgarde had eight of Columbia Falls’ 33.
“I have a very young team and the more they play the more confident they get,” Brown said. “As they play better teams they’re learning more and more about themselves.”
Columbia Falls steamrolled Eastern A runner-up Miles City 25-9, 25-18, 25-15 in the first round.
A slew of Miles City errors allowed the Wildkats to pull away in the first and second sets.
Miles City was more composed in the third, but the Cowgirls had no answer for Columbia Falls’ attack.
Carla Nicosia sparked a 6-0 run with three kills from the left side and strong net play by Ciera Finberg paced Columbia Falls as the third set wore on. Nicosia finished it with a kill that deflected off the Miles City block and in front of the back row.
Belgarde and Winter Kemppainen each tallied eight kills for Columbia Falls while Ciera Finberg had seven. Cydney Finberg assisted 33 of the Wildkats’ 33 kills.
Kadie Heinle led Miles City with eight kills.
“We were on,” Brown said. “We were quick on our feet, our passing and serve receiving was awesome. Our freshman setter was doing an awesome job making sure all our hitters got an equal share.”
Columbia Falls will play the winner between Belgrade and Frenchtown in a loser-out match today at 4 p.m.
They’re going to come out ready to play,” Brown said. “They’re disappointed and upset, but they’re ready to go. They want more.”
Winner’s bracket quarterfinal
Lewistown (21-6) - Kills: 39 (Mikaela Olson 10, Jaree Mane 7). Assists: 33 (Maddie Comes 30). Aces: 6 (Michelle Monger 2). Blocks: 5 (Mane 2, Nicole Karbi, Monger, Olson). Digs: 50 (Monger 10, Teale Danell 9, Olson 9).
Columbia Falls (12-9) - Kills: 33 (Haley Belgarde 8, Ciera Finberg 7, Winter Kemppainen 7, Carla Nicosia 7). Assists: 27 (Cydney Finberg 27). Aces: 3 (Tiffany Hummer 2, Ci. Finberg). Blocks: 5 (Kemppainen 2, Nicosia 2, Belgarde). Digs: 42 (Cy. Finberg 12, Shaylene Fishel 10, Belgarde 6).
First round
Kills – Columbia Falls 33 (Haley Belgarde 8, Winter Kemppainen 8, Ciera Finberg 7), Miles City 22 (Kadie Heinle 8, Shaylee Singleton 6). Assists – Columbia Falls 29 (Cydney Finberg 29), Miles City 20 (Catherine Nalewaja 10, Makena Ellingson 9). Aces – Columbia Falls 5 (Ciera Finberg 2, Kemppainen 2), Miles City 2 (Nalewaja, Singleton). Blocks – Columbia Falls 4 (Cydney Finberg 2), Miles City 4 (Jessie Beard 2). Digs – Columbia Falls 49 (Tiffany Hummer 11, Shaylene Fishel 9, Kemppainen 8), Miles City 49 (Tori Swope 13, Stevie Murphy 8,